Cal State East Bay debuts Spanish-language newspaper

The Pioneer, Cal State East Bay's student-run newspaper, unveiled a bilingual edition that includes a pullout four-page section with the main stories written in Spanish.

Staff at the paper said it's the first college newspaper in the Bay Area they know of to be printed in two languages.

Natalia Aldana, the paper's editor-in-chief, said she saw a need for ﻿a bilingual paper in the community.

"I saw that places where the Pioneer is dropped off, a lot of people don't speak English," she said. "There's an untapped market there for us writers and advertisers as well. Our words were not being used."

Every third edition of the weekly paper will be bilingual and focus on issues affecting the Latino population, Aldana said. It will also highlight "influential and emerging members" of the community.

Bilingual stories in the first edition included one on Latino children living in poverty, a profile on rising Filipino boxer Nonito Donaire and an editorial on an assembly bill benefiting undocumented immigrants.

She said translating has been a bit tricky, and the staff strives to make sure everything matches up in both versions. They get help from a Spanish language professor, and Aldana also has an in-house staff in the form of her El Salvadoran parents. They proofread the first issue, which came out Jan. 26.

Irvington High School in Fremont has received a $1,000 grant for its "Teens4Teens" program, allowing students to host a teen health fair featuring local hospitals, national health organizations, and other youth clubs.

Attendees will set up booths to educate students about obesity, healthy food choices and exercise. The grant also will support Teens4Teens in their volunteer activities at the Tri-City Health Center, where club members serve as assistant coaches in an after school fitness program for elementary students.

Cal State East Bay: Host to first Bay Area Brain Bee

High school students with an interest in neuroscience competed at the first Bay Area Brain Bee at Cal State East Bay on Feb. 4.

The event was modeled like a spelling bee, except with questions related to the brain and nervous system. And it was scored like baseball -- three strikes and you're out.

The event was sponsored by the Tremor Action Network, a Pleasanton-based group dedicated to research on essential tremor, the most common movement disorder.

Smitha Gundavajhala of Monta Vista High School in Cupertino took top place and will travel to Baltimore to compete in a national bee on March 4.

San Leandro, Castro Valley: Model status

Two East Bay continuation high schools were selected for "model status" by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

San Leandro's Lincoln High School and Castro Valley's Redwood High School received the status along with 23 other California continuation high schools.

Last year, representatives from the California Department of Education and the California Continuation Education Association visited 27 continuation high schools that met requirements for model status, out 504 continuation schools in California.

--Jason Sweeney

Homeroom is a regular Friday feature on school news from the Tri-Cities and greater Hayward area. Rob Dennis covers Fremont, Newark and New Haven school districts. Contact him at rdennis@bayareanewsgroup.com. Eric Kurhi covers Hayward and Castro Valley school districts, Chabot College and Cal State East Bay. Contact him at ekurhi@bayareanewsgroup.com. Jason Sweeney covers San Leandro and San Lorenzo school districts. Contact him at jsweeney@bayareanewsgroup.com.